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Recorded on Monday, January 26, 2026, Kelli hits pause on her planned topic to process what she describes as another devastating, politically-charged weekend in the U.S. — and the disorienting, nervous-system-whiplash experience of seeing something unfold online before it’s widely reported.

She talks about the specific kind of mindf*ck that happens when:

• You witness something that feels horrifying and unreal,
• The first headlines don’t match what you saw,
• And you start doing that classic Type C / people-pleaser spiral: “Am I overreacting? Am I being dramatic? Am I the crazy one?”

At the center of this episode is a call to stop letting silence gaslight you into self-doubt.

Kelli unpacks how “staying out of politics” can feel safer in the moment—especially for women who were trained to be palatable to survive—but also how that perceived safety can become a very real danger when nobody says anything, to anyone, anywhere.

This isn’t a neat little bow episode. It’s a real-time processing session about fear, denial, people-pleasing, and choosing to tell the truth anyway.

In this episode, Kelli covers:

• Why not acknowledging “recent events” can feel weird and wrong
• The psychological spiral of disbelief when you see something shocking first-hand (or first-scroll)
• How silence makes you doubt your own perception—and why that benefits systems in power
• The “I’m not political” identity… and why that stops working when values are on the line
• The inner conflict of wanting to speak up without sounding ignorant, divisive, or “too much”
• How people-pleasing and fawning show up in business and in civic life
• A simple starting point: tell the truth about where you are (even if you feel late, shaky, or scared)
• Ways to take action: community conversations, donating, learning, and supporting values-led businesses

Resources mentioned (as Kelli references them):

• Women’s March trainings/resources (including guidance for community response and observing).  
• Donating to support Minnesota
• Being more intentional about where your dollars go (especially women-led / artisanal / values-aligned businesses)

Thanks for tuning into this episode of Loudmouth Lab (formerly Kelli Was Here). If you made it this far, bless your brave little ears.

If this episode lit something up and you’re thinking, “well, shit… my digital presence is absolutely not keeping up with my actual taste,” come visit me at www.loudmouthlab.com

That’s where you’ll find the ways to work with me—Squarespace website design, messaging, and color palette curation—that is ANYTHING BUT BASIC.

Because, fellow loudmouth, sensible is not your style—and it's never too late to become yourself.

Muah - K